Nell

So, tonight I watched the movie "Nell" which stars Jodie Foster as a woman who seemingly speaks her own language.  Just a quick comment, I have wanted to see this movie ever since I took the course on Speech Communications and Special Education.  But, while I was watching this movie, I was trying to figure out how, or if, this movie related or affect how I am going to teach in the future.

To begin with, the very first scene with the character Nell in it shows her in a very negative light.  Nell was not used to other people, so she freaked out when other people came into her cabin.  That insight is shown later on in the movie.  But, this goes back to a lot of what I have said before in my posts, if you accept a student at face value based on their behavior, you are betraying and failing them.  If Liam Neeson's character had just continued what he thought right after she freaked out - that she belongs in a room with padded walls - he would not have gotten to know her or understand her language and subsequently her.  There is a person behind every behavior, and the point of being a Special Educator is to find that person and find out why that behavior is occurring.

I am especially thinking now of the court scene with Nell where she uses Neeson's character as a translator.  She says that she may appear more scared than others, but she just shows that she is scared.  So nobody should be scared for her, because she can take care of herself.  I hope that I can become a good enough friend or benefactor or whatever term you want to give it to my students.  A person who that student who doesn't feel that they can trust anyone can trust.